The Redskins are in a tight playoff fight, currently sitting in 3rd in the NFC East at 7-6-1 and in a dogfight against the 8-6 “Bay” teams from Green Bay and Tampa Bay, after a tough loss to the Carolina Panthers on Monday night.

Kickoff is set for 10:00 AM with QB Kirk Cousins under center for Washington, squaring off against Matt Barkley and the Chicago Bears.

Washington Redskins

The Bucs still sit at 7-6-1, which is good for 3rd in the NFC East and, as mentioned, are in must-win territory to keep their playoff hopes alive.

The motivated Redskins will be led by QB Kirk Cousins, who has thrown for 4,360 yards this season along with 23 TDs against 10 INTs.

Cousins bet on himself last season by accepting a one-year deal with the idea he’d receive a large multi-year offer, which is looking highly likely now.

Washington has a solid trio of solid wide receivers in DeSean Jackson, Pierre Garcon and Jamison Crowder. All three have yardage totals above 820 on the season and have combined for 14 TDs, with Crowder amounting for half of the scores with seven.

Washington has one of the better Tight Ends in the league, Jordan Reed, although he has been significantly banged up throughout the year, and his entire career for the most part.

Reed appeared to re-injure himself on Monday against Carolina, and if he does play, he will not be 100%.

Washington’s defense ranks at 24th overall in points per game allowed at 24.5 on average.

Moreover, they sit 29th overall in total yards allowed this season at 5,256, and will need to improve on their averages in the final two weeks if they want to find themselves in the post-season.

Chicago Bears

The Bears miserable season continues, as they sit at 3-11 on the year and currently have 18 players on the injured reserved.

There have been a few bright spots though, and coming from unexpected places for the most part. New starting QB, Matt Barkley, has performed better than many expected of late.

Barkley has been turnover prone, but if he can reign that in he looks competent enough, having put up strong fights in close loses the past two weeks to Detroit and Green Bay. He’ll at least be a solid #2 QB for a team next season. He’s thrown for 6 TDs and 7 INTs in his five games played this year, with a total of 1,163 yards.

Another bright spot includes Cameron Meredith, who sits second on the team in receiving yards as a sophomore. He looks every bit the part of a quality NFL receiver at 6’3, 207 lbs, but will want to curb the fumbles as he’s registered three on the year.

Running back Jordan Howard leads the offensive charge, rushing for 1,059 yards on the season and average 5.0 yards-per-carry. He’s scored six TDs and has solidified himself as the lead man in ChiTown.

The Bears defense has dramatically improved from years past, having allowed just 4,696 total yards, which is good for 9th overall. They are 16th overall in points per game at 22.9.

The have a solid group between Jerrell Freeman (91 sacks), Danny Trevathan (though on IR), Akiem Hicks and Tracy Porter.

NFL Betting Trends:

Washington is 3-3-1 on the road this year

Washington is 9-5 ATS this year

Washington is 5-0 in covering the O/U after a loss

Chicago is 3-4-0 at home

Chicago is 3-0-0 ATS in their past three games

4* Free NFL Betting Prediction: Over 45.5

I expect the Redskins to come out firing after a tough loss to Carolina in week-15 and now facing a must-win game against a bottom feeder Chicago team.

NFL Free Score Prediction: Washington 27 – Chicago 21

I don’t love the Bears’ offense, but they did manage to put up 24 in Green Bay in week-15 in the cold weather and now have Alshon Jeffrey back and a QB who actually wants to target him.

I expect both defenses to cause some turnovers and create favorable field positioning to add to the point totals- look for Josh Norman to have a crucial pick against the INT-prone Barkley.

If you’re looking for more NFL picks like this Washington Redskins vs. Chicago Bears matchup we’ll be providing 4* free NFL predictions on the blog all season long, and check out our Experts for guaranteed premium & free NFL Football picks!

CappersPicks.com has NFL odds up on a ton of futures, and you will also find 2016 NFL lines up for early games as well.

About Alex McPhee

New to Cappers Picks but NOT new to making free sports predictions. An avid sports better with some solid success, Alex is a former high level athlete in multiple sports and has been a sports writer in the past with multiple sites before we roped him into sharing his free picks on our site. He’s been a hockey scout, coach, manager and played baseball at an elite level until he went to University. Combine that with prior experience playing poker for a living, his intuition might be picks that you want to follow! Good luck.

We respect your privacy and will never sell or give away your info to any third party. Please make sure you add our email to your “safe” email sender list. All email you receive will be from CappersPicks.com (Via FeedBurner or Constant Contact) & you can opt out anytime!